Back to "More Than Conquerors" home page.
Lesson: What Does God Expect?
Author: Mark Stusek
Date: 2/10/08
Today I want us to renew in our hearts three terrific practices that give us clear direction for the demanding days and nights:
1. To obey
2. To seek wisdom
3. To persevere
Trusting God to meet each and every need through this journey in life is not natural when we are born. It is a learned behavior. Hence, we often take the fast-food approach to our walk with God (spiritual life) by:
1. Trusting in our limited perspective
2. Depending on our limited resources
3. Relying on our own strength
That’s why God leads us into situations that bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will seek Him and trust Him to be all sufficient in our lives. Let’s see if He can be all we need.
I. People with needs
We all have many needs, but what should our daily response be to each of them? Let’s examine the Hebrews.
Exodus 15:22-24
1. Moses led Israel from the Red Sea into the wilderness of Shur. This barren dessert was the path to Mt. Sinai where Moses would take the People to receive the Ten Commandments.
2. Between the Red Sea and the Promised Land is wilderness.
3. Just like God did not whisk the Hebrews from the Red Sea to the Promised Land, he doesn’t whisk us straight to Heaven the moment we are saved.
4. They traveled in the heat of the desert for three days without having any good water to drink. What was their response?
a. Grumbled
b. Turned on Moses and God only three days after being delivered and witnessing the parting of the Red Sea.
5. God provided good water but not before testing them. (Exodus 15:25)
Question: Why does God purposely place us in the hard places (wilderness, desert) of life to test Hebrews and us?
Deut: 8:2
Forty years of testing:
a. to humble us
b. to determine what’s in our hearts
c. to determine whether we will keep the commandments
d. to remove our self-sufficiency
The wilderness experience shows us what we are made of.
II. More Needs
1. It has been one month since Israel left Egypt.
2. Food supplies were running low, so they complained and wished they had meat, potatoes – stew!
3. Like Esau they were willing to trade their future for food.
Question: What was God’s response?
Meet their requests with abundance and displayed patience, but not before testing them.
The Lord provides regular tests to see whether we will obey Him. Obedience always brings blessings.
III. Answers Needed in Crisis
You have food, water, shelter, clothes, but you need an answer to a problem that reaches outside your physical needs.
I Cor 3:19
1. The wisdom of this world is foolishness before God, so don’t rely on the focus of man/woman.
Proverbs 8:11
2. According to the scripture, wisdom is more valuable than money, diamonds, success or fame.
3. We all need God’s wisdom to fulfill the calling placed on our lives.
4. Job asked the question we all need to ask: "But where can wisdom be found?" (Job 28:12,23)
5. God is the holder of wisdom and freely wants to dispense it to you and me. (James 1:5).
Knowledge is important, but wisdom from God gives us divine insight into making right choices.
I Kings 3:9-13
6. The perfect example of asking God for wisdom comes from King Solomon: He could have had anything, but asked for an understanding heart and wisdom to judge God’s people – discernment between good and evil.
Solomon was in a crisis and he asked for wisdom to carry out God’s calling on his life.
Question: What was God’s Response?
He not only granted Solomon’s request to make him wise, he also gave him things he had not asked for.
IV. Stay The Course (Rev 3:7-10)
Maybe right now you are in the wilderness (relationally, financially, spiritually, vocation, school, health, emotionally):
1. God and God alone opens the door to our needs; no one can shut it.
2. We do not have to be the strongest or most courageous people who live to take advantage of open doors of opportunity God has provided - "Just a little strength".
3. Because we persevere, God will protest us in our greatest time of need and cause our enemies to respect us.